GRE AWA Practice - GRE ARGUMENT ESSAY 143

GRE Analytical Writing Argument Essay Topic - 143

The Treasury has once again introduced a dollar coin, the Pine Tree dollar. Neither the Presidential dollar coin, introduced 11 years ago, nor the Eagle dollar coin, introduced 3 years ago, remained in circulation long: people simply preferred spending paper dollars. However, a survey conducted soon after its release indicates that the Pine Tree dollar is far more appealing than other dollar coins: 76 percent of respondents own the coin; 62 percent of those owning multiple coins consider it so attractive that they are still saving rather than spending the most recent coin to come into their possession. Since the Pine Tree coin promises to become the dollar currency of choice, the Treasury is correct to begin saving money by dramatically reducing the costly printing of paper dollars.

GRE AWA Analytical Writing Argument Essay Sample Solution - 143

The arguer claims that the newly introduced Pine Tree dollar coin is bound to become very popular with people. He draws the conclusion that a reduction in the printing of paper dollar bills, which is very expensive, would be the right decision for the treasury as it would lead to a lot of savings. The arguer states that the Presidential dollar coin and the Eagle dollar coin which were introduced 11 and 3 years ago respectively were not able to remain in circulation; whereas the Pine Tree dollar coin is already popular as is indicated by the results of a survey. The argument appears convincing when read for the first time. However, a closer analysis reveals several flaws that succeed in weakening the argument.

Common sense tells us that people will always prefer dollar bills to coins. The reason is obvious. Dollar bills are light and you can fit numerous dollar bills into your wallet as they can be easily folded and carried around. On the other hand, coins are bulky and heavy. It becomes difficult to carry coins in your wallets and purses because of their weight and size. Therefore, the contention that the treasury can consider reducing the printing of dollar bills seems to be highly unreasonable. This becomes more evident in light of the fact that the Presidential dollar coin that was introduced almost a decade ago and the Eagle dollar coin that was introduced more recently were both unable to remain in circulation for long.

The arguer has not been able to provide substantial evidence that can prove beyond doubt that the Pine Tree dollar coins will surpass dollar bills in their popularity and usage. There may be other reasons for the respondents of the survey to have owned the Pine Tree dollar coin. It is likely that since the Pine Tree dollar coin has just been introduced, people are curious to own the coins as souvenirs. Moreover, it is possible that the new coin has been designed in such a way that it looks very appealing and its universal appeal might have led to a substantial increase in the number of people who are keen to own the Pine Tree dollar coin. This assumption is further bolstered by the fact that 62 percent of the people who own the Pine Tree dollar coins find them so attractive that they are choosing not to spend them and are saving the coins.

At the same time this fact related to 62 percent of the respondents makes the argument sound ambiguous since it implies that a majority of people are not willing to use the coins for spending. This means that the coins may no longer remain in circulation once the initial euphoria has worn out. Therefore, the arguer's claim that the printing of dollar bills can be reduced does not find adequate support from the facts presented by the arguer in terms of the results of the survey.

Furthermore, the arguer needs to present a cost analysis related to the manufacture of the Pine Tree dollar coins and the printing of the dollar bills to substantiate his claim that the printing of dollar bills is more expensive as compared to the manufacturing of the dollar coins. In the absence of such evidence, the reader cannot be convinced that there will be savings by reducing the printing of dollar bills.

In the final analysis, the claim made by the arguer is not well supported. The evidence provided by the arguer does little to substantiate the claim made therein as there is no concrete evidence that proves that the Pine Tree dollar coins will remain in circulation for a long time and that the treasury will benefit by reducing the printing of the dollar bills.